The Story of a Hero
by Darkl26139
Summary: Chloe heavy story with an alien's view of Kryptonians. This is the first story I ever wrote and it shows. One day I'll go back and clean it up I promise.
1. Chapter 1

The Story of a Hero

**The Story of a Hero**

**Part I**

Coming to Smallville

He looks out the viewport. This new world slow fills the viewport as his ship races to it. His mind drifts to the past. All that was lost. The price he paid. He has to do this. He will not rest till he has found and killed them all. There was no where in the galaxy they could hide. No more worlds will suffer because of them. He will stop the Monsters.

A beep brings him out of his thoughts. The ship has detected the presence of the Monsters but the Monster's technology prevents his ship from locking onto their location. The Monster's tech may be better than his but they cannot hide from his tracking skills. A quick scan reveals anomalies in one area. All the reports of strange events and beings in this one area make it clear this is where the Monsters were hiding. His suspicions are confirmed when his ship's review of the planet's computer files show an image of a local building with the Monster's writing on its side. He orders the ship to cloak and land just outside this place called Smallville. He will find the Monsters and do what must be done.

His readings show signs of something moving at super speeds thru this entire area. Not fresh but only a few days old. This proves Monsters are hiding here somewhere because only Monsters can move at those speeds. He continues his search for the building with the Monster's writing.

His search efforts are being greatly slowed by the necessity of staying out of sight. The Monsters may be able to blend into the local population but there was no way he could. The planetary survey of this world indicates that humans would be terrified by an alien's presence. His 7' reptilian form with tail and claws would certainly frighten these humans. Since he is only here for the Monsters, he feels it best to stay hidden. He bares these humans no ill will and wishes no conflict with them.

Meeting Chloe

As he prepares to move to the next building a noise catches his attention. Ducking back into the shadows of the roof top, he searches for the source. There! A human female is fleeing several males. The males drive her into a dead-end alley. They seem to want something from her. One of the males is pulling at her carryall. This is strange since he did not think males used carryalls here. The female clearly does not want to give the carryall up. She pulls a small device from the carryall and shoots something into the male's face. This causes the male to release the carryall but angers the other 3 males. They pull metal weapons from their garments. The female is shouting for help. The fear is clear on her face.

This is none of his business. Getting involved would only be risking alerting the Monsters to his presence. Still something about the female's determination holds his attention. She faces odds she knows she cannot defeat but she fights anyway. He realizes he cannot leave this female to her fate. This scene was all too similar to how Monsters operated. The strong are meant to protect not abuse the weak.

Sighing at the foolishness of risking his mission, he jumps from the roof. He lands amongst the males. They are stunned by his sudden appearance. He smells their fear. They are no match for him. In seconds, they are all down.

He turns to face the female and he is surprised not to see fear in her eyes. She even thanks him for helping her. She then collapses. As he examines her, he sees the weapon in her chest. He was too slow!! One of the males managed to stab her before he acted. Unable to watch her die, he scoops her into his arms and rushes back to his ship.

Luck is with him! The ship is able to save her. The ship warns him she will be weak and will need a great deal of food when she awakens. Of course, the nanobots would have consumed most of her body's reserves repairing the damage. His food would not meet her body's needs. He will have to do something about that but what.

After reviewing the ship's files on what humans eat, he takes some local currency from her carryall and heads out in search of food. It was simple for him to find a closed food vendor and even easier to enter it undetected. Not sure what the female prefers, he grabs an assortment of foods. He then leaves the currency on the counter. He leaves all of the currency since he has no idea what the goods he took cost.

As he reenters his ship, he is surprised to see the female already awake. He is even more surprised to see her sitting calmly in the medical pod simply looking around. There is a look of curiosity on her face but no fear. Simply amazing. She did not react at all like the planetary studies said. She notices him and says "Hi. My name is Chloe Sullivan. Thanks again for saving me from those goons. I am not sure what happened to my regular savior. And you are?"

Not sure how to answer her question, he presents the food he acquired for her to buy a moment to think. She expresses her gratitude but also laughs at his poor choices. Apparently, one does not live on "snack chips, candy and soda". He explains these were the most common items in the food vendor's store. When he explains which vendor he went to she laughs again "I guess it is unfair to expect an alien to know the difference between a convenience store and grocery store." Still she is hungry and starts to eat the food he brought.

Trusting his instincts, he sits down next to the pod "The translation of my name is not exact but in English the closest is Draggon. I come from a planet far from your world. I am here hunting Monsters. Many of your years ago, my people and much of the galaxy were enslaved by the Monsters. These Monsters killed billions. Lush vibrant worlds became cold lifeless rocks just for daring to wish for freedom. No matter what was tried, the Monsters conquered world after world. They were unstoppable.

When they can to my world, they came as gods. You see my people were simple primitives easily tricked by the monsters. They stripped us of our freewill and remade us. Their horrible experiments killed many but those of us that survived were a thousand times stronger and faster than before. Our hides were now nearly impenetrable. We could heal just about any injury within moments. We could focus our life force into energy beams which we could fire from our hands or eyes. We became the ultimate living weapons. Weapons capable of killing even other monsters. My people were the shock troops of the monsters for centuries. We were hated almost as much as the monsters themselves.

Eventually, monster's evil turned on itself and a bloody civil war erupted. Their home world was destroyed in this war but still they fought amongst themselves. It seemed their madness would destroy the whole universe but suddenly everything changed. During one battle as I stood at my master's side as he battled a monster from an opposing house. My master's victory was certain. As his last act before he died, my master's opponent used a device on me. The device awakened my mind and will. For the first time I thought and felt for myself. The realization of what I had been made into, all that my people had lost and were forced to do filled me with pure rage. My rage was so strong it spread amongst my people like wildfire. Scientists believe my people are latent telepaths and this awakened that power if only for a moment. I don't know. All I knew was the monsters must pay. I turned on my master an slew him.

As one my people turned on the monsters. The monsters killed millions of my people but these victories cost the monsters dearly. They had made their living weapons too well. With our rage driving us, we would not stop no matter what. We drove the monsters from world after world.

Despite all our power, the monsters would have destroyed my people. Their technology was just too far beyond ours. It was not until the other races united behind us that we were able to tear apart the monster's empire. Already splinted by their civil war, they were not able to stop us.

Once our freedom had been secured, the freed peoples formed a new galactic empire that would respect all beings. This was a time of renewed hope and optimism. It was during this time of celebration that some of us realized that not all the Monsters were gone. The new government just wanted to forget the Monsters. They did not want to face the fact that the Monsters were still out there. Yes the Monsters had been defeated but if they were not destroyed they would be back. This could not be allowed to happen. Never again could the Monsters be allowed to threaten the universe. A few of us swore to stop the monsters.

Over the years we have been very successful in destroying the Monsters. In fact, it is widely believed that the Monsters are no more. I know better. I know your world hides a few of the remaining Monsters. I am here to find and kill them.

You see you world is the perfect place for the Monsters to hide because on the surface they look just like your people and under your yellow sun, they become even more powerful. For reasons we don't understand, a yellow sun gives the Monsters amazing powers. Their strength increases a hundred fold; they can fly, and are all but indestructible. Your primitive technology has little chance of detecting them and your weapons have no hope of harming them. Your world is the perfect place for them to start rebuilding their empire."

Chloe lowers her head absorbing all that he has said. She says "You are talking about Kryptonians aren't you? You don't have to worry about them. My friend stopped them. He prevented their empire from getting started." Stunned by what she said he asks her how this is possible. Chloe then explains that her friend is a Kryptonian who was raised by humans. She claims he is a hero and not a Monster.

Sadly, he has seen this before. More than one world has fallen for the Monster's savior ruse. They come pretending to be friends. Usually revealing themselves after stopping a major crisis which the poor trusting locals don't realize that the Monsters created the crisis in the first place. Curing a great plagued was one of the Monster's favorites because if the locals rejected them as "saviors" the plague would resurface and wipe out the locals. He explains all this to her.

She tells him he is wrong. "Clark is a hero. I know. He has saved my life and the lives of many others more times than I can count. If you give him a chance, you will see he is not a monster."

He has seen her misplaced loyalty in other of the Monster's minions but she is so sure he is a hero. He doesn't see how this is possible but he finds himself agreeing to give Clark a chance. This little human female reminds him of his lost mate. His mate was also a force of nature.

Realizing she has eaten all the food, she comments "I can't believe I just ate all that junk. When I started eating I just could not stop. I should be so sick but I am still kind of hungry. What did you do to me?" He apologizes for not telling her sooner but the hunger is a side effect of healing her injuries. He offers to get her more food but she declines.

The Bargain

Pausing for a moment, she then says "Your offer raises a question. Am I your guest or prisoner?" He reassures her she is a guest but he must also admit he is not sure what to do at this point. He has already endangered his mission by helping her. He must know if he can trust her before he allows her to leave. Her admitting she knows one of the Monsters means he can't risk her alerting him to my presence. He hopes she can understand his point of view.

Again she amazes him by say "I understand your situation. However, Clark and my other friends will start to look for me if I am gone to long. If you promise not to hurt Clark until he has had a chance to prove he is different then I will promise not to warn Clark. Now, there must be some way I can earn your trust? You have all this super alien tech. There must be a way for you to observe me remotely? Some sort of bug?" He does have such a device. Again some inner voice tells him she is someone he can trust. Taking a huge gamble, he agrees to let her leave as long as she wears the device. He attaches the device to her wrist and explains it will allow him to see and hear everything within a 10' radius of it.

As he prepares to take her to her dwelling, there is an awkward moment. Her garments were destroyed during her treatment and she is uncomfortable traveling without some sort of garment. He apologizes for not realizing this social necessity of her society. He wears a simple skin suit which helps maintain his preferred body temperature but not for any social reasons. Many of his people do not wear any garments when on a world, preferring to feel the sun and weather on their bodies. His ship is able to create a skin suit to fit her smaller body. She marvels at how comfortable the garment is.

Chloe comments "It's like a second skin. It moves completely with me. It does not even feel like I am wearing anything"

Draggon explains "The skin suits were designed to make it easier for space travelers to go from world to world. The suit not only helps maintain the body's ideal temperature but is also process viruses, toxins, and other harmful things. This allows a traveler to land on a world without risking illness/harm. There is the added benefit of preventing local diseases from spreading to other worlds. In the years before skin suits, extensive precautions had to be taken to safely go from world to world."

He insists on carrying her to her dwelling. He tells her whereas her wounds are healed, her body is still weak. Chloe surprises him again by not arguing. She simply says "Just don't let Clark know I let you carry me home on our first date." She smiles. He realizes this is human humor but he is too slow to respond and the moment passes.

Once at her dweller Chloe checks her home communicator. There are several messages for her. Listening to the messages, Chloe realizes she has been gone longer than she thought. Chloe asks me "How long has it been since you rescued me? It seemed like only a few hours."

I tell her "I rescued you 2 of your days ago."

"Two days!" she says. "Lois and Clark must be totally freaked. I have to call them. You can stay while I call them if you want." I accept her invitation partly because I am curious to hear what she will tell them.

When Chloe calls Lois, Lois does not answer so Chloe leaves a message letting Lois know she is Ok. Chloe explains that she has been working on a big story and lost track of time. She apologizes to Lois for causing her to worry.

Next Chloe calls Clark. Clark does answer. He immediately starts asking Chloe a ton of questions all focused on is she Ok. Chloe starts to explain she was just working on a story. Clark insists on coming over to check on her.

Hearing Clark is on his way, I jump out the window and onto a nearby roof. Sure enough seconds later Clark comes running at super speed into Chloe's apartment. This strikes me as odd for two reasons: One the Monster ran and did not fly and two this Clark seems genuinely concerned about Chloe. Clark looks her over and suspects something is not right. He tells Chloe he is going to "scan" her. He looks her over again and remarks "Chloe What happened? There is scarring that looks like you were stabbed. Did your power heal you? Why didn't you call me before going into danger?" This Clark is clearly upset. I have to wonder if this is concern for a fellow equal or more of frustration at a disobedient pet. My master was quick to punish those of us that did not take proper care of "his" property.

Suddenly, Clark turns to the window. Damn, I forgot how much the Monster's senses are improved on this world. I try to move deeper into the shadows. Clark starts to head out the window when Chloe suddenly sighs and collapses. Clark spins and catches her before she falls on the floor. As he picks her up, I see her give a knowing look in my direction. "Chloe. Clearly you are not all right. Are you sure you don't need to see a doctor?" Clark asks.

"Clark I will be fine. I just need some rest." Chloe replies. Clark does not seem to agree with her but he does not push the issue. Chloe tells Clark to go home so she can go to bed.

Clark starts to leave but pauses at the door. He says "I am glad you are ok Chloe. Don't hesitate to call if you need anything." Chloe smiles and replies "Thanks Clark. Now get out so I can get ready for bed." She playfully shoves him out the door.

After Clark leaves, Chloe signals to him from her window. He reenters her apartment. "See Clark is not a Monster. He is truly the nicest person on this planet." Chloe remarks.

He is not impressed "I have seen other Monster's treat their pets as well as he treated you. I saw nothing that convinced me he sees you as an equal. In fact, he was very condescending towards you. He clearly feels you don't take adequate care of yourself."

Chloe turns red and replies "I am nobody's pet!! Clark really does care about me and all humanity as equals. He has risked his life more than once to protect not just me but this whole world."

"Someone protecting their property does not mean they view that property as anything other than something they own." he retorts.

Chloe's response is "You are as stubborn as Clark so that shows you are not completely different. You really need to give Clark a chance not just for him but for yourself as well. I have seen hate consume friends in the past. If you let it consume you too, then you are just another Monster. I don't think that is who you want to be."

This human is truly amazing. Her point is all too true. Has he let himself become just like the Monster's he hunts. He is disturbed to find he can't answer that question. All he can say is "You are right. I don't wish to be a Monster. Very well. I will do my best to give your Clark a fair chance to show me he is not a Monster. I must warn you though. I will not let anyone even you stop me from doing what is necessary should he prove himself to be just like the rest of his race."

Chloe replies "That is all I ask. However, if you decide you have to kill him, you will have to kill me first. I will die to protect Clark."

Once Draggon leaves, Chloe collapses on her sofa. "What a day! I just met another alien. Smallville must have a giant alien magnet somewhere or something" she thinks. An alien just told her he is here to kill her alien friend and what does she do. She promises not to warn Clark. How could she make such a promise? As she replays the scene in her mind, she realizes why. Draggon did not hide anything from her. He was very honest and straight forward. She really believed ever word he said and somehow she knows he will keep his word. Now she just has to show him the Clark she knows and everything will be fine. "That shouldn't be too hard right? Everyone likes Clark, well except Lois and probably Jimmy and then there is Lex. Oh this may not be as easy as I thought." races thru Chloe's mind. Unable to think about this anymore right now, she lets sleep over take her.

The next morning Chloe wakes up starving. She goes downstairs to the Talon and winds up eating a huge breakfast. "Boy, I hope my body knows what to do with all that." Now full and feeling more like herself, Chloe makes a few calls.

She tells Lois that she will be out of touch for the next several weeks working on a big top secret story. Lois offers to help but Chloe declines. Lois ends the call with her usual "Take care of yourself and call if you need me." Next she calls Jimmy.

This is a hard call but she knows he will worry about her. Even though they are not together, Jimmy still does care. If only she could have worked things out but she knows it was not meant to be. She hopes Jimmy can find someone who makes him happy. She lets Jimmy know she is working on a big story here in Smallville and won't be back to Metropolis for awhile. He half heartedly offers to help but is clearly relieved when she says no thank you.

She sends her editor an email asking to work from Smallville for awhile. Perry replies that is fine as long as her stories are on time and he includes a few minor pieces for her to work on. They are all Smallville area related. She likes Perry. He is the first editor she has worked for who seems to understand his reporters.

Now she is free to focus all her attention on showing Draggon that Clark is not a threat. She just has to do this without Clark figuring out what she is up to. Clark is at first surprised to see Chloe volunteering so much of her time but he is grateful. There are still phantoms to track down and Lex is clearly up to something.

Draggon spends the next few weeks shadowing Chloe on her adventures. It easy to see why Clark expresses such concern over Chloe not taking care of herself. She repeated puts herself into the path of danger which Clark often saves her from.

He observes Clark save several people, right several wrongs, and even show kindness to strangers. Nothing convinces him that he is not a Monster. These acts could just be part of his long term plan.

Take for example this group of heroes he assembled. They go out night and after night to punish evil. I have seen this pattern all to many times. The Monsters start out as heroes fighting evil. They gather local followers who believe they are doing good. These followers believe they are protecting people but all to soon it is the Monsters deciding what is right and wrong. Who needs to be punished and why. By this point, the local heroes are in too deep. These heroes have become just more shock troops for the Monsters. The tragedy being they never sees it coming.

Over these weeks, Chloe continues to impress him. After each adventure Chloe points out how noble and heroic Clark's actions were and he counters with how nothing he does puts him in any true danger. He points out she showed far more bravery because she was in true danger. Her open and sincere arguments force him to face his own prejudices. The fact he is an alien does not bother her in the least.

She does ask questions about his past and other worlds but never pushes. She even provides local foods for their meetings. Much of which is not to his taste except what she calls pasta. He finds he cannot get enough of this pasta. Particular a dish called Lasagna. Chloe finds this very amusing and refers him to a cartoon animal called Garfield. He finds himself laughing with her. He did not think he knew how to laugh.

She tells him about growing up in Smallville. She tells him how hard it was for her growing up without her mother. She talks about how she always wanted to be a reporter. She shares her hopes and dreams. Also, she talks a lot about her relationship with Clark.

Chloe "I used to be in love with Clark but that was before I understood what real love is. You see I wanted Clark for myself back then. I did not understand that loving someone is not about possessing them. It is about sharing your life with all its flaws with them. That was a hard thing to learn.

My relationship with Jimmy is what really helped my figure that out. I really like Jimmy. He is handsome, fun and so caring but I found I could not share my life with him. I know Jimmy blames Clark and his secrets for our break up but it was not just Clark's secrets that I couldn't share but several of my own. My power for example. I knew Jimmy could not handle me being meteor inflected. It was not fair to Jimmy to keep dating him when I knew this. I don't know if I will find someone and that is Ok. I know who I am and what I want to do. Of course, I hope I will find someone. If/when I do, I will be able to share all my life and they will be able to share all of theirs.

Now Clark and I are best friends. I am happy helping Clark save people. He really does have a destiny. He will make the world a better place."

"Many conquers promise to make the world a better place. You have to be careful who defines better." interjects Draggon.

Chloe replies "I know. That is why my friendship with Clark is so important. He needs friends to keep him grounded. Also, by being a part of groups like Oliver's Clark is forced out of his comfort zone. He sees that others will fight for what they believe is right. He is reminded he is not alone in his efforts. All this keeps Clark from being anything other than Clark. Did that make sense?"

As for me, Clark helped me find my calling. I grew up thinking I wanted to be a reporter. It was all I ever dreamed of being. I realize now that I want to be part of the story and not just watching. I realize I have a destiny too. Every hero needs someone behind the scenes helping track down the villain and I am that someone. I really enjoy helping not just Clark but Oliver's team as well fight the good fight. I know I am not like them and could never be on the front lines so I stay behind the current."

Draggon tells her about the other worlds. How many are still rebuilding after the war. He tells her about the battles he fought and the friends he lost. He finds himself sharing more with Chloe than anyone since he awakened.

One night he finds himself even discussing his mate. A topic he has not dared to broche since he awakened. He met her before the Monsters came. She was smart, beautiful, and strong. He speaks of how he loved the way the water made her scales glisten in the sun. They were to be bonded. They were to raise a family. The Monsters took all that away.

He tells Chloe something he has told no other living being. "I was among the first to worship the Monsters as gods. I willing let them remake me. Reborn, I helped enslaved my village. When my mate begged me to stop, I killed her. Others have told me it was not my fault. That the Monsters had made me into little more than a robot but I still should have found a way to stop myself."

Chloe approaches. She takes his head in her hands and kisses him on the forehead. She then wraps her arms around him. She holds him this way for a time. He finds it strange but comforting. He feels wetness on his skin. He looks at Chloe to see tears in her eyes. She says "No wonder you call them Monsters. I am so sorry for all that you lost. Don't worry you are not like them. Believe me I know a hero when I see one."

Her words are meant to soothe him but they anger him. "I am no hero. I am doing what is necessary. I am doing my duty. Those with power have a responsibility to protect those without." He storms out of Chloe's apartment.

He returns to his ship. How dare she call him a hero! He knows he is no different than the Monsters. He kills. Heroes can always find a better way that is why they are usually only found in stories. There is so much blood on his claws.

He hears Chloe speaking to him thru the bracelet. "Draggon. I am sorry I upset you so. I can only imagine what you went thru but I have gotten to know you these past few weeks. You are not evil. You" He shuts off the device. He does not want to hear more. What madness has driven him to share so much with this human? He has let her distract him from his mission. He should never have let that happen.

The next evening he travels to Chloe's apartment for what he expects to be the last time. Chloe greets him with a smile. She is pulling a wonderful smelling lasagna from the oven. She says "Feeling better? I thought lasagna would help."

"There is no more time for pleasantries. It has been one Earth month since my promise and I still only see a monster. You have failed to convince me that your Clark is different from any of the others. It is time to be done with this business. I must deal with him and get back to my hunt."

Chloe says "I had hoped you would at least trust my opinion at this point. Isn't there anything that will convince you?"

"There is only one thing that will convince me. Are you truly prepared to die to save him?

"Gladly" is all she says.

Judgment

Ever since Chloe started working on her latest big story, Lois has not seen her but Chloe at least called once a day. Yesterday Chloe did not call. Lois has called her cousin Chloe several times over the last 24hrs and still no response. Lois started off annoyed but is now worried. Lois decides to head over to Chloe's apartment.

At Chloe's Lois finds the front door ripped off its hinges. Strange symbols are written across one wall in what looks to be blood. The apartment is trashed. A blood trail leads to a shattered window. Lois is stunned by what she sees. Clearly, Chloe fought her attacker but the amount of blood splattered around the room does not bode well. "Chloe must be hurt pretty bad. Oh God, she may be dead." thinks Lois. Lois calls the only person she can think of.

"Hello. This is Oliver. Hello" says Oliver Queen.

Lois says "I need your help Ollie. Chloe. Someone took her. I they may even have killed her. There is so much blood. Please help me. Ollie."

Oliver "I am tracking your location. Stay put I will be there as quick as I can."

Lois can't even reply. She drops the phone and starts to search the apartment for clues. This writing on the wall looks familiar. If only Lois could remember where she saw it before.

Clark's phone rings. It's Chloe. "Hi Chloe." He says.

"Clark I need you. Come" Chloe tries to say but the call is cut off.

Clark races to Chloe's apartment. He bursts thru the door. "Chloe" he shouts as he takes in the chaos that used to be her apartment. He is stunned to see written on one wall in Kryptonian with what he feared was Chloe's blood was "Come meet your fate Monster. I await you at your dwelling." Clark races to the farm.

As Clark approaches the farm he scans it with his x-ray vision. He sees 2 figures in the barn. One is clearly Chloe. The other some kind of monster. It must be another escapee from the Phantom Zone.

As he rushes into the barn, he sees his worst nightmare. Chloe is literally nailed to the far wall. Her lifeless eyes stare accusingly back at him. They say "Why didn't you save me?"

Standing in front of her brutalized body is an alien monster. This reptilian creature is roughly humanoid in shape. It stands 7' tall and has a thick tail. Clark can see Chloe's blood on its claws. Clark does not know where this thing came from but it will pay for what it did to Chloe.

Draggon speaks "If it helps Kryptonian, she was a loyal pet. She did everything she could to protect her master. No matter how I tortured her, she would not betray you. Her kind is so fragile and she broke far more quickly than I had planned. I was just starting to enjoy her screams when she died. Once I am done with you, I will have to try again with another of your pathetic pet creatures. I am sure with billions to play with I will be able to amuse myself." He laughs dark and evil.

Clark replies "I will stop you monster. Nothing will stop me from avenging Chloe and protecting this world from you." Clark charges at superspeed.

The rage on Clark's face reveals the Monster Draggon knew was lurking inside. On this world, Clark maybe faster but Draggon was made for combat. Clark's attacks are clumsy but with his anger driving them he manages to land a several blows. Draggon is pleased that the monster has managed to hurt him. Draggon had feared a monster this young would not be much an opponent. Now, Draggon can enjoy this fight.

Realizing his punches are not stopping this creature, Clark changes tactics. He uses is super breath to freeze the water in the air around Draggon trapping Draggon in a block of ice. Draggon is not impressed and he easily shatters the ice around him.

Next Clark tries his heat vision. Clark is surprised his heat vision does not seem to hurt this monster. Draggon laughs (which sounds like a growl to Clark) at Clark's attack. His hide has withstood far greater temperatures.

Not sure what to do, Clark closes once more with Draggon. He throws everything he has at Draggon. Clark hopes to overwhelm this creature by his sustained attack. Draggon sees Clark desperation grow as Clark slowly realizes he cannot beat Draggon.

After trading furious blows, Draggon's tail manages to catch Clark's right leg. The sharp snap is clear. Clark screams in pain and falls. "Now, I have him" thinks Draggon.

But Clark does not stay down. He manages to stand but he is no longer able to dodge Draggon's claws. Draggon scores deep wounds on Clark's chest and face. Clark's blood flows. Clark realizes he can't win but he won't give up. At the very least he will take this monster with him. He will not fail.

"Why won't he run?" wonders Draggon. Clark must realize Draggon will kill him. Draggon pretends to stumble giving Clark a clear chance to escape but Clark does not take it.

"Run! Damn you! Run! You are not a hero! Show your true colors! Save yourself!" races thru Draggon's mind. Draggon will find the monster in Clark and destroy him. He lets his hatred over take him. Draggon is merciless. Again and again he strikes Clark. No matter how many times he drives Clark to the ground Clark continues to rise. No matter what Draggon does to Clark, Clark still tries to fight on. At this point, Clark's legs no longer support him so he crawls forward. It is clear he will die before he surrenders. Draggon has never seen a Monster fight so hard much less fight so for others. Draggon is witnessing the impossible.

Draggon roars and then turns to Chloe. He says "I cannot believe I was wrong. He really is prepared to die to stop me. All the other Monsters I have fought tried to run. He does not. Even now he tries to fight me. (Clark trying feeble to grab Draggon's leg.) You are right Chloe. He is a hero." Clark raises his head and shouts "You Monster. She can't hear you anymore. You murdered her!!"

Draggon turns back to him and says "Chloe is not dead Clark. This is all a test for you. Ms. Sullivan believes in you so much she endured all this just to prove you are not a Monster." "Chloe's not dead! Oh thank god!" exclaims Clark and he finally allows himself to pass out from his injuries.

Draggon approaches Chloe and releases the status field he used to simulate her death. The field completely paralyzes her but leaves her conscious. A bit of special makeup and some contacts finished the horrible death look.

Aftermath

Once she is able to move again, she rushes to Clark. She says "I understand you had to be sure but you didn't have to hurt him this bad. You nearly killed him. At one point towards the end there, I thought you were going to. I am glad you didn't. I am glad you did not become the Monster."

"You are right." Draggon says "I wanted him to fail. I wanted him to be like all the others but he is not. He is a hero. Thank you. Chloe Sullivan. You have shown me something I did not think existed. Clark is not the only hero you know. There are few beings with the courage to not only face the unknown but welcome it. Clark lives because of you." She smiles, laughs and remarks "I am happy just being the sidekick. Now, can you please heal Clark?"

Draggon picks up Clark and carries him into his ship. Chloe follows close behind. Draggon places Clark in the med bay and lets the ship treat Clark's injuries. Draggon feels a bit of guilt when he sees just how badly he injured Clark. It amazes him that Clark was able to stay conscious with such injures.

After making sure Clark is improving, Chloe says "I should clean up. This makeup you used is amazing. I don't suppose you would lend me some next Halloween." Chloe heads to my ship's cleansing unit. While she is in there, Draggon treats his own injuries. Clark hurt him more than he though possible. Still between his "natural" healing abilities and his ship's med bay, he is fully restored in minutes.

When Chloe is finished in the cleansing unit, she asks "How do I get one of these installed in my apartment? Not only does it do wonders for my hair but I feel so refreshed after using it." I smile.

She again checks on Clark in the med pod. "He will be fine. Right? I know this thing healed my knife wound but Clark looked pretty bad. Should I use my healing power to help?"

I reassure her Clark is healing and will make a full recovery. She suggests she get some food for when he awakes. I say "There is no need. The med bay can simulate full sunlight. That will provide all he needs."

Chloe looks at me funny. She says "What. Clark does not need to eat? I see him eat all the time."

I explain "His people draw their strength from the sun. They eat more for the pleasure than true necessity. They can live for months on just sunlight."

"Clark never mentioned that but he may not know himself since he was raised by humans." Chloe says.


	2. Chapter 2

**The Story of a Hero**

Part II

Help Arrives

Draggon's ship's sensors alert him to a ground vehicle approaching the dwelling. He calls up an image of the vehicle. "Oh that is Oliver's car." says Chloe. The vehicle stops and 2 humans get out. Chloe "Yep that is Lois and Oliver. Boy, Lois looks really freaked out. Lois must have seen my apartment! I have to go talk to her. I won't tell her about you though." Chloe says as she darts out of the ship.

She meets Lois and Oliver as are approaching the barn. Lois rushes to Chloe saying "Chloe are you all right. I was so worried. I thought you were dead." Lois hugs Chloe. Oliver is standing nearby looking around while holding some sort of weapon.

Chloe breaks the hug and replies "I am fine. I am sorry to put you thru all that. There was a monster but Clark defeated it."

Lois "Are you ok Chloe? There was so much blood in your apartment."

Chloe "I really am fine Lois. Sorry I did not get a chance to call you. I know you are here checking up on me but I need to get back to the barn. There is a lot to clean up from the fight."

Oliver "We can help you clean up."

Chloe "Now as I am sure you understand Oliver. Clark likes his privacy and right now he needs some privacy."

Oliver "Ok Chloe. If you say so. Come on Lois. The Boy Scout and your cousin have this one under control."

Lois "You scare me half to death. Poor Oliver gets dragged back to Smallville and you expect us to just go home. I don't think so. I don't know what Smallville has gotten you into but I intend to find out. Now spill it." Chloe is at a loss at what to say.

Suddenly, Oliver draws and aims his weapon and Lois says "Oh my god." Their reaction to Draggon's appearance is what the planetary studies warned him would happen. Chloe gets between them "Oliver put the bow down. Believe it or not he is a friend." She turns to Draggon "You didn't have to show yourself. I could have handled."

Draggon replies "Clearly, your friends were concerned about you. I think they deserve to know what you endured." Draggon addresses Lois and Oliver "Chloe showed me something I did not think existed and in the process saved Clark's life and my soul."

Chloe says "Lois and Oliver can you wait here a moment. I need to talk to my friend." Lois just nods her head as she stares at Draggon. Oliver says nothing but does lower his bow.

To Draggon "Please come with me." He follows her into the barn.

Chloe explains "Lois does not know that Clark is an alien and Clark does not want Lois to know. Can you help me keep his secret?"

"I am confused Chloe. I thought Clark is friends with these two. Isn't the male one of the ones he fights evil with?" he asks.

"Well, Oliver does work with Clark and he does know some stuff about Clark but not everything. Clark is afraid that anyone who knows his secret will be in danger. His best friend Pete found out his secret and suffered because of that knowledge. It drove Pete away. Clark's human father died protecting his secret. As for me, when Clark found out I knew his secret he was really worried about me. He feels enormous guilt over all the times I have been injured helping him. This is why Clark is trying to protect Lois by not telling her. Will you help keep Clark's secret?"

Her words reinforce the fact that Clark is not a monster. Draggon has never met a monster that cared for anyone enough to worry about that being's safety. He answers Chloe "You have earned my trust so I will do as you ask Chloe. Now perhaps I should answer some of your companion's questions? I did not mean to scare them. You did not seem frightened at all when we met."

Chloe laughs "Well, the knife wound made it hard to think clearly. Everything was dream like. When I woke up in your ship, I did freak out. Luckily, by the time you got back I had calmed down. I realized you had helped me and anyone who would help a total stranger no matter how different they were from me can't be evil."

When Chloe and Draggon exit the barn, they see that Lois and Oliver have been having a discussion. Draggon catches "An alien Oliver! A real live alien! Can you believe the story this will be!" They turn as they notice Chloe and Draggon returning. Lois "Well cousin, you sure beat any story I have been working on."

Chloe replies "Lois we can't tell anyone about this."

Lois "Why not! This is the most incredible thing to ever happen to me, to the world. I mean proof of life on other worlds!"

Oliver "Chloe is right Lois. Clearly, her friend here does not want to do the talk show circuit. Can you imagine what would happen if this got out? Look at all that has happened here in Smallville because of the meteor showers. A real alien would cause world wide panic." To Draggon he says "No offense"

"Damn, Damn. This is really not fair. This is the second time you and Chloe have a given me the story of the year and the second time I can't say a thing about it. Ugh I hate doing the right thing." complains Lois.

"I apologize for causing you any distress. After seeing how easily Chloe accepted me, I thought her friends would react in a similar way. The scene you saw at Chloe's dwelling is my fault. I came here hunting monsters and I thought Clark might be one. Chloe tried to convince me otherwise but I had to test him to be sure. Chloe helped me set all that up so Clark would think I killed her. I needed to see how he would react. I must admit he surprised me." Draggon says.

Oliver puts his weapon on his back and walks over to Draggon. He extends a hand and says "Welcome to Earth. I am Oliver Queen. Please excuse our behavior. We came here expecting our friend to be in danger. Any friend of Chloe's is a friend of mine."

Draggon grip his hand as he has seen humans do. Draggon tries to be careful but he sees Oliver wince from his grip. "I am sorry. Humans are much more fragile than my race. It took me weeks to stop breaking things in Chloe's apartment."

Lois says "Weeks! Chloe you have been hiding an alien for weeks!"

Chloe replies while rolling her eyes and shrugging her shoulders. "Calm down Lois. I have been helping him. I couldn't let him vaporize Clark now could I?"

"Where is Clark?" asks Oliver.

"The test was a fight between Clark and me. I injured Clark during the testing. My ship is healing the damage. He will be fine." Draggon tells Oliver.

Chloe suggest everyone go into the house and talk for awhile. Everyone heads inside. Chloe is kind enough to get everyone beverages. Lois fires off question after question. She is determined to learn everything about Draggon and the other worlds as quickly as possible. Oliver just listens. Draggon answers her questions for a few hours before he stops her.

"I must return to my ship and check on Clark's progress. Perhaps, you would like to see it?" Lois jumps at this chance, grabs her carryall (which Chloe told him is called a purse here), and heads for the door. Oliver follows her outside.

He takes them behind the barn and into the ship. Lois is amazed. More questions pour out of her. Draggon answers what he feels it is safe to but Lois wants more. Fortunately, Chloe intercedes and gets Lois to stop pushing.

Meanwhile, Oliver is looking around. He is clearly studying Draggon's equipment. Draggon says "Oliver I am sorry but I can't share my tech with you. It is forbidden."

"I understand. This kind of power in the wrong hands would be horrible." is his reply.

Draggon shows them where Clark is recovering. The computer says Clark's injures have been healed but Clark is dangerous low on energy. The computer is currently bathing Clark in concentrated yellow sun rays and expects to have Clark fully recharged in another day.

At this point Chloe, Lois and Oliver are all showing signs of fatigue so Draggon suggest they get some rest and they can talk more after. Draggon offers "You are welcome to rest here in my ship. There is only one sleeping chamber but it has space for 4 beings. I do not need to sleep for a few days yet but please rest."

Chloe suggests "I am sure Clark won't mind if you crashed in the house either." Lois and Oliver go into the house to rest. Chloe remains.

Chloe "I figure I won't get too many chances to sleep on a space ship. Can you show me this sleeping chamber? I have been wondering how/where you slept." Draggon takes her to the chamber and shows her how to climb into one of the sleep pods.

He explains "When the pod is activated, a substance will form around you. The substance is designed to hold you in the pod and prevent you from being injured as the ship travels. Ready?" Chloe nods. He activates the pod.

"Wow, I thought this would feel really weird but it actually comfortable. It is nice and warm already." Chloe says thru a yawn. She quickly falls asleep.

Draggon returns to the bridge. He spends the night reevaluating what he took as fact. How many has he killed that were not monsters? Many he never even spoke to, he just killed them wherever he found them. Their race was enough to condemn them. These tough questions do not make for a pleasant evening.

When the sun has risen, Chloe comes out of the sleep chamber. "I can't believe how well I slept. That pod thing is incredible comfortable. Are Lois and Oliver up yet?"

Draggon checks his sensors. "No, they are still both sleeping in the room near the front of the house but they were up later than you. They spent several hours mating before they slept. You did not mention they were life mates."

An expression Draggon has never seen crosses Chloe's face and she makes a choke/cough sound. She says "Well, Lois and Oliver used to be a couple but Oliver's career prevented them from being life mates. Lois could not handle not knowing if Oliver would survive his current mission night after night. They were in love and after last night maybe they still are."

When Oliver and Lois get up, Draggon and Chloe join them in the house. Chloe ran to a food vendor earlier to pick up breakfast for them. Draggon eats some left over pasta. He has not developed a taste for muffins or coffee.

After breakfast Oliver says "Well as much as I would like to stay and learn more, I can't. I left my team in the middle of dealing with something and need to get back to them as soon as possible."

"I may be able to help you get back. It will take my ship only a few minutes to reach anywhere on this world." Draggon offers.

Oliver "Just let me get my gear from the car." Lois follows Oliver outside to the car.

"Look Ollie last night was wonderful. I want you to know I don't regret it but we both know it shouldn't have happened. You're the Green Arrow and Oliver Queen is just a mask you wear. We can't be together so let's just leave last night as last night. Ok?"

Oliver is surprised by this. He has been trying to figure out how to talk about last night all morning. He thought he had crushed his feeling for Lois but last night provided he is still in love with her. He is glad he did not hurt her again. "Ok Lois." is all he can mange to say.

"Good. Now what gear can I use? I am pretty good with a baton." says Lois.

Oliver laughs "Let me see what I have for you Rambo." They share a smile.


	3. Chapter 3

Part III Part III A New Problem

When Oliver returns with his gear, everyone heads back to Draggon's ship. Oliver gives Draggon the coordinates of where he needs to go.

"This ship is incredible. It took less than 10 minutes to go half way around the world. I don't suppose I can buy one from you" Oliver remarks.

Draggon starts to explain that would be forbidden when Chloe informs him Oliver was only joking.

As the ship comes in for a landing, an alarm sounds. The ship has detected a Kryptonian power signature somewhere nearby. The source must be heavily shielded or my ship's sensor would have picked it up in orbit.

"What is your team doing here?" Draggon asks.

Oliver replies "Lexcorp opened a secret base at this remote jungle site. It seemed like a lot of hardware to put in the middle of a jungle. We figure they must be up to something. Let me call my team and get an update." Oliver takes out a communication device and signals his team. They do not respond.

Concerned Oliver asks Draggon to open the door so he can look for them. Oliver is certain something has gone wrong.

Draggon asks Chloe "Will you stay with Clark in the ship. I will help Oliver look for his team and I should investigate that power source as well. When Clark wakes up, he will want answers that would be better answered by you."

Chloe agrees.

Lois starts to follow Draggon and Oliver out when Oliver stops her. "Where do you think your going?" he asks.

"With you" she replies.

"Clearly there is danger here. I do not want to leave Chloe alone but someone has to watch over Clark till he wakes. Oliver is looking for his team and I need to find the power source so that only leaves you to stay with Chloe. Will you stay with her?" says Draggon.

Lois mumbles something about the boys club before she reluctantly agrees to stay.

Oliver leads Draggon to where his team was camped. They find the camp intact but unoccupied. It is clear that no one has been here for at least a day. Oliver checks out the camp's headquarter tent. Inside are several laptops. A quick check of their contents reveals surveillance scans/photos of the base.

The base is here because there is something underneath it. Draggon recognizes the shape. It is badly damaged a Monster Attack ship. "Oliver. This is an Attack ship. These ships were often driven completely by AI. If it were to activate it could destroy all life on this world. It must not be activated."

Oliver and Draggon make for the Lexcorp base. As they approach, Oliver suggest that a stealthy approach would be the best. Draggon would prefer to rush in but he understands Oliver is concerned about his team. "Oliver. I will try not to endanger your team but I must destroy that ship. If I have to sacrifice all our lives to do that, I will." says Draggon.

Oliver "Don't worry we are the good guys. We always win in the end."

"If only that were true" is Draggon's reply.

As they approach the base, they can see bodies scattered around. Every building they search shows more bodies but no useful information. The bodies are only a few hours old. All the base's equipment is smashed or off line. All files and hard copies have been burned. Eventually, they find the tunnel that was made to reach the buried ship. They head down.

Once inside the ship, they hear noise coming from the bridge. Sneaking up to the entrance, they peer inside. There a humanoid is dismantling a control panel. Draggon recognizes the creature. It is a construct.

Constructs were the spies/assassins of the Monsters. They were living machines designed to infiltrate any society by shapeshifting. They were almost as strong and fast as the Monsters. Draggon did not know any of these creatures still existed. He thought they had all been destroyed.

The construct is trying to repair the bridge devices with parts scavenged from the base above. Luckily, the bridge is badly damaged and will take the construct hours to repair if it is able to repair the bridge at all. The level damage makes it unlikely the ship will ever fly again but some of the ship's systems may be salvageable.

Oliver and Draggon continue their search of the ship. They find no sign of Oliver's team. However, Draggon notices parts of the ship have been removed. Of particular concern is the removal of 2 particle cannons. "Just one of these cannons would be able to level a city. We must find where these weapons have gone." says Draggon.

Oliver nods and they withdraw.

As Oliver and Draggon enter the ship, Lois bombards them with questions. "Well, what did you find out? Did you find the rest of the Justice League? Are they Ok?"

"Lois. Give me a moment and I will fill you in on all we saw." begs Oliver.

Draggon goes to look for Chloe. He finds her looking over Clark as he rests in the med pod.

Draggon checks the pod's readings and says "He should be awake in the next few hours. The pod has finished healing him and is now dosing him with yellow sun rays."

Chloe looks up at me to ask "What did you find?"

"Come to the bridge where Oliver is briefing Lois." Draggon requests. There Oliver briefs Lois and Chloe on what they found. Oliver hands Chloe some cds he found at his team's camp site.

"Can you take a look at these? My team was unable to crack the codes on these cds but maybe you can?" Oliver asks Chloe.

"I will try" she replies.

"We need to deal with the contruct." says Draggon.

"Agreed" says Oliver.

Draggon and Oliver head back to the ship. As Draggon and Oliver approach the bridge, Draggon starts building a charge. The pulse will burn some of his life away but it is the only sure way to kill a construct. The constructs are all but immune to physical damage since they are able to repair themselves even faster than Draggon can heal.

Draggon sees the construct in the same place as before. He enters the room, concentrates and fires. The pulse is dead on but Draggon is surprised to see the pulse pass thru the construct. "A hologram." realizes Draggon. All too late he hears the whine of an energy weapon discharge to his side. Frantically trying to avoid the blast, he tries to dive behind the control console. Draggon roars in pain as part of his chest disintegrates. The blast knocks him out of the air short of the control console he hoped to use for cover. Landing hard, Draggon tries to turn and refocus his energy for another shot but the world fades in and out. He shakes his trying to clear it.

Oliver seeing the construct surprise Draggon, jumps into the room and fires an arrow at the construct. The EMP arrow he hopes will disrupt the construct but the construct easily dodges the arrow. Faster than Oliver can follow the construct charges and strikes him. Oliver slams into the far wall. He slides to the floor unconscious.

Draggon has managed to clear his head enough to start building another charge. He sees the construct strike Oliver and then turn back to him. As the construct raises its arm to shoot, Draggon knows he will never be able to fire his pulse in time. Suddenly, the construct's arm flies off. Confusion clouds the construct's face as it stares at its stump. This is all the delay Draggon needs. He fires his pulse. This time the pulse impacts the construct and it shatters into a thousand pieces.

With the construct destroyed, Draggon collapses. Between his injury and the life force he used, he is too weak to stay conscious.

Clark arrives in time to see Brianiac about to blast that creature that attacked him. Not sure he is doing the right thing, Clark decides to help the creature. After all Clark knows what a threat Brainiac is. Clark uses his heat vision on Brainiac's arm. Blowing it clean off. Clark then turns his attention to Oliver. He is relieved to see Oliver slowly getting up. "Are you ok" he asks Oliver.

"I will be fine. How is Draggon?" replies Oliver.

"It is hurt and unconscious." Clark says.

"We should get him back to his ship. It can heal him." says Oliver.

"I am still not entirely sure I should be listening to Chloe about this thing. It hurt me very badly." Says Clark

"Don't trust him. Trust Chloe." says Oliver as he walks over to Draggon.

Still conflicted about helping him, Clark picks up Draggon and runs back to the creature's ship. Oliver follows as quickly as he is able to.

Back in Smallville, Brainiac pauses in his work. One of his replicants has been destroyed. He scans his active replicants to figure out which one was destroyed. The one at the crash site in India. He will have to accelerate his plans. He summons his replicants back to him. His side projects will have to wait.

Time to Recover

When Clark gets back to the ship, Chloe meets him at the entrance hatch. "Oh he is hurt. Quick take him back to the med bay where you woke up." she says.

Clark drops Draggon into one of the pods and says "I am going back to help Lois and Oliver. Will you be Ok here?"

"I think so. Luckily the ship is largely automated. "Chloe replies.

"You know that is not what I mean. Are you sure you will be safe with that thing. It nearly killed me." says Clark

"As I told you, his name is Draggon. I told you what Kryptonians did to his people. Can you blame him for testing you?"

"That was a pretty extreme test Chloe. I mean I really thought he killed you. I realized I don't know what I would do without you Chloe." Clark says as he touches her cheek.

Chloe enjoys Clark's hand on her face but she knows it can't be. "Don't worry. We will always be friends." she says as she thinks "I love you too."

Clark jerks his hand from her cheek like he had been burned. He tries to cover his mistake but he is certain she saw it.

Chloe checks on Draggon in the pod. "Good. The pod is doing its thing." she thinks to herself. Chloe tries to read the med bay's control console. Unable to make heads or tails out of the writing on the screen she asks "Clark, Can you read any of this writing?"

Clark takes a look. "Sorry no. Some symbols look Kryptonian but not enough to make any sense out of the rest." Clark replies.

"If only it were in English, we might be able to see how badly injured Draggon is" Chloe says

A clearly artificial voice says "Translating: English Standard." The computer screen converts the symbols into English and even the control consoles reconfigures.

"That is incredible. That console changed shape and size as it converted." says Oliver as he walks into the med bay..

Chloe sits down at the console which now has a key board with English letters. This makes it easy for Chloe to start reading about the med bay. She is relieved to see Draggon will recover in a few hours. She is concerned about one of the readings. The reading is marked energy level and it is very low. She settles in to learn what she can from the ship's computer while she waits for Draggon to awaken.

Oliver takes Lois and Clark to his team's camp site to get some food and other supplies. When they get back, Chloe has fallen asleep at the computer console so they leave her. Not comfortable sleeping on this ship, they head back to Oliver's camp to spend the night. They do leave Chloe a note so she won't worry.

Draggon awakens to find himself in one of his ship's med pods. As he orients himself, he sees Chloe's sleeping form on a hodgepodge bed nearby. Trying not to wake her, he climbs out of the pod. He knows he must feed and soon. His hunger tries to pull him towards her but he resists. He heads out into the jungle. There he finds what he needs and he feeds. Non-sentients do not provide the same amount of nourishment as a sentient does but he has learned to make do.

With his hungry restrain if not satisfied, he returns to the ship. He is greeted by Clark. "I know Chloe trusts you but I don't. Your test was unnecessary and endangered Chloe. What would have happened if I had run? Would you have killed her?"

"No. I would have killed only you Clark. I know my test was difficult but you passed. You are the only Kryptonian I have met able to see past their own desires. I am no longer your enemy. Thank you for saving my life. I never thought I would say that."

"Your welcome. What happened anyway? I mean you beat me pretty easily it seemed. Why did Brainiac give you so much trouble?" ask Clark

"First off. Our battle was far from easy. It was only my years of combat experience that allowed me to defeat you. You fought far better than I expected. As for the construct, I was overconfident. I did not think the construct, Brainiac as you call it, noticed Oliver and I earlier. I should have known better. I should have been more alert." says Draggon.

"That weapon took you down pretty easy. Yet my heat vision didn't seem to hurt you at all. Why?" asks Clark

"The weapon is called a Disrupter. It breaks down the connections between individual molecules in the target. It can vaporize just about any substance. This weapon is particularly effect against my kind because it also disrupts the nannites in my body. Even a minor hit will dramatically reduce my ability to heal. Also, I was not at full strength. I have not properly fed in a long time and the fight with you drained much of my energy. Firing those 2 energy pulses used up much of my remaining energy." replies Draggon.

"Is that what you were doing? Feeding? What exactly do you eat?" asks Clark taking a defensive stance.

"I feed on energy just like you Clark but I can't absorb energy from a power source as freely available as the sun. Your people made sure you I can only draw energy from other life forms. It was the perfect way to make sure my people would have no choice but to be warriors. Of course they were careful enough to make Kryptonians taste bad so your safe." Draggon explains with a sneer.

"So you feed on people!" Clark says with clear superiority.

"I can feed on most life forms but yes sentient beings provide the most energy. But I choose not to be a monster. I feed only when I have too and never on the innocent. Tonight, I fed on leopard. It was enough to sate my hunger for now." Draggon replies with a challenging tone.

"So you do eat people. You have to know I won't allow you to." Clark says overflowing with arrogance as he sits grandly on his high horse.

"Be careful. I let you live the first time but I will not be so kind if there is a next time." Draggon says back as he flexes his claws.

"Knock it off!" shouts Chloe.

Surprised Clark and Draggon turn from their confrontation to face her. Draggon is startled to see guilt cross Clark's face and he is even more surprised to find his own feelings of guilt.

Chloe faces them and says "Enough of your nonsense. Clark you of all people should understand how hard it must be for Draggon. Your people tortured and murdered millions of his people. You can't blame him for having issues. Even with all he went thru, he still was big enough to give you a fair chance. Are you telling me you can't do the same?"

"Well, he is dangerous. He just said so. (pause) Oh, you're right as usual Chloe. I am sorry." Clark grudgingly says.

"And you Draggon. Haven't you put Clark thru enough? You can't blame Clark for being suspicious after what you put him through?" Chloe asks

In a serious tone Draggon replies "I am sorry Chloe. I shouldn't have let him provoke me."

Chloe has to laugh to herself. Here she is facing off two aliens each capable of crushing a car and they look like two young boys who just got caught with their hands in the cookie jar. "Now that is settled. How about some breakfast? Oliver brought back some supplies including coffee from his base camp. So is anyone hungry?"

Clark gives Draggon a look as Draggon says "I am fine. I just ate."

Clark says "Shouldn't we wait for Oliver and Lois to wake up?"

Chloe replies "Oliver has been up for awhile. He is doing his morning workout routine and I showed Lois how to use the Cleanser Unit so she is cleaning up. They will both be done by the time I have breakfast ready"

"Let me help" offers Clark and he takes some food from her.

"Where the kitchen on this ship? asks Chloe.

Draggon shows her the section of wall that opens up but he tells her "This won't be much help preparing your food it is designed to heat health paks and nothing else. It works sort like your microwave oven but it has only one setting."

"No worries. Clark can you set up the portable stove in Oliver's kit." replies Chloe while pitching Clark one of her smiles.

"No problem." Clark says as he grabs the stove and related gear. Clark heads out side and gets the stove going.

In no time, Clark is cooking scrambled eggs and Chloe is brewing coffee. "Do you want me to make some pasta?" she asks Draggon.

"No I am fine." is his reply.

Lois emerges from the ship following the smell of coffee. "Oliver wanted to use that cleansing thingy before he came out. He worked up quite a sweat and boy did he smell" Lois says with a small laugh.

Shortly Oliver emerges dressed in his Green Arrow costume once more. He grabs a plate and fills it with eggs and sits down on the grass near Lois. Everyone is silent will they eat and enjoy their coffee.

While getting another plate full of eggs, Oliver breaks the silence by saying "So Chloe did you find anything in those files of Lexcorp that I gave you ?"

"Well, I found a couple of things. It looks like Lex had the cannons shipped to a facility he built in Smallville. However, he also has a facility that looks like a prison in Nevada desert. If Lex has the rest of the league, I am willing to bet they are there." she replies.

"Well, I am off to Nevada then. Draggon, I imagine you want to get after those cannons so I can take the team jet. Clark, I could use your help." says Oliver.

"I don't know. If Lex or Brainiac has those cannons the whole world could be in danger." says Clark.

"With Lois's and Chloe's help, I am sure I can find and deal with the cannons. You should help your friend." says Draggon.

"Clark. You and Oliver should be able to rescue the rest of the league in no time. Then you can catch up with us." says Chloe.

"Are you sure you guys will be ok?" asks Clark while looking meaningfully at Draggon.

"Don't worry Smallville. I will take care of them. Besides there is no way I am letting Chloe have this story all to herself. She has enough scoops on me as it is." says Lois as her eyes shift to Draggon.

"I promise I will die before I let anything harm them." pledges Draggon.

Realizing he has no hope of winning an argument if he pushes, Clark goes with Oliver to prep the plane.

Once Oliver's plane is on its way, Draggon takes his ship over the crash site. He powers his weapon systems and completely destroys any trace of the attack ship. He then directs his ship to head back to Smallville.


	4. Chapter 4

Part IV Part IV Rough Landing

As the ship comes in for a landing at the Kent farm, it rocks suddenly from a massive explosion. Draggon runs to the controls and attempts to avoid a crash landing. The damage is too severe. The ship slams into the ground. Draggon manages to cushion Chloe's fall but Lois is thrown about the cabin.

Draggon gets up. "I need to find out what happened." says Draggon as he opens the hatchet and jumps out.

Chloe picks herself up and heads over to Lois. Lois is bleeding from her scalp but it is not deep. Relived that Lois will be ok, Chloe makes her way out of the ship.

As Draggon leaps out of the ship, he hears the wine of an energy weapon. He rolls out of the way of an energy blast. He comes up to see another construct/Brianiac looking at him.

"You didn't think your primitive cloak would fool me. Once I realized you were here, it was a simple matter to track your ship. Did you like the trap I set for you?" asks Brainiac as he fires another blast at Draggon.

Draggon just manages to dive out of the way. "As long as Brainiac can keep me off balance I won't be able to focus my energy enough to blast him. I need to buy myself sometime." thinks Draggon.

"I am surprised to find one of your kind here but I will quickly remedy that." taunts Brainiac and he fires again.

As Draggon dodges this next blast, he scoops up a rock from the ground. He throws the rock as hard as he can. This move catches Brainiac off guard and the rock knocks the weapon away. Brainiac tries to recover his weapon but Draggon tackles him. He strikes Brainiac repeatedly. Draggon's claws tear large chucks out of Brainiac's body. Brainiac's right arm hangs broken. Draggon crushes Brainiac's legs. Brainiac manages to get his left arm free and punches Draggon. The blow knocks Draggon off Brainiac. Brainiac stands as his body starts to reassemble itself. "You should know that physical damage is easily repaired." says Brainiac with a smile.

"I just needed you to hold still for a moment." Draggon replies as he fires an energy blast.

The blast hits Brainiac in the chest knocking him down. A large part of Brainiac's face and chest fall away. He looks like an incomplete jigsaw puzzle of a man. However, Brainiac is starting to rise once again. The damaged parts continue to reform.

"Damn, I am too weak. I don't have the energy to finish him." thinks Draggon.

Laughing Brainiac says "No wonder my kind were created to replace yours. You are weak." His body is nearly reformed.

Draggon focuses the last of his energy and fires. Brainiac's body shatters. For a brief moment, Draggon thinks his blast destroyed Brainiac but then he sees the pieces starting to reform. Draggon has no more energy to use. He can barely stay conscious.

Chloe runs up to him. "Draggon Are you ok? she asks.

He pushes her away. "Stay back. It is dangerous to be near me. You should get Lois and run. I was not strong enough to destroy Brainiac. He will reform in moments." he says

Chloe approaches once more. She says "I know why you are not strong enough. I read your computer logs. You have not fed in a very long time. You need to feed in order to regain your strength."

"If you read the logs then you know what I need to feed on. I won't do that anymore. I am not a monster." says Draggon.

"You don't have choice. Lois is hurt and even if she wasn't there is no way we could out run Brainiac. You are the only one who can stop him. You must feed." she says as she places her hands on his head.

Chloe's life force is so strong it calls to him. His hunger screams at him to feed but he resists. "Please Chloe just run." Draggon says.

She looks him in the eyes and says "It is ok. I know you won't kill me. Take what you need." She places her lips to his mouth.

With that physical contact, it no longer matters what Draggon wants, the hunger has him. He grabs Chloe and drinks deep of her life. Her life force energizes him. It had been so long since he fed on a sentient, he forgot how good it feels. For a brief moment, he experiences everything Chloe is but then like her it fades away.

"See the hopelessness of your situation. You will always be a monster." taunts Brainiac. He has regained his weapon and aims once more at Draggon.

Carefully Draggon places Chloe's now life less body on the ground. He does not even feel Brainiac's first blast. He focuses Chloe's energy and fires.

Brainiac experiences fear for the first time when his blast has no effect on Draggon. "That is not possible. The Disrupter was made to destroy his kind." he thinks as Draggon's beam vaporizes him.

Elsewhere in Smallville, Brainiac's work is interrupted once more. "It destroyed another of my replicants. I underestimated it. I thought the trap would deal with it. I must further accelerate my plans. I will not fail in my mission." he thinks.

Loss of a Friend

Lois comes too with a headache. She sees no sign of Chloe or Draggon but she notices the hatchet is open. She makes her way outside. There she sees Chloe lying on the ground near Draggon. Lois can't be sure but she thinks he is crying?

"What the hell is going on?" asks Lois.

No one answers her. Lois runs over to Chloe and sees she is not breathing. "Oh Chloe." she says.

"It is my fault. I killed your cousin. It seems I am nothing more than a monster." says Draggon looking down at Lois.

Lois is stunned to see tears on his face. Even though his face is strange to her, there is no mistaken the great pain on it. "What happened?" she asks as she finds herself placing a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Brainiac out smarted me once again. I did not think he could detect my ship but I was wrong. Brainiac was waiting for me. I was too weak to destroy him. I had not feed in a long time." stutters Draggon as he looks away from Lois.

Lois moves back in front of him and says "and?"

"I begged her to run but she did not. She had read my computer files. She knew what I feed on and she came right up to me. She offered herself to me. I tried so hard not too but I was not strong enough. My hunger overwhelmed me and I fed on your cousin. I am so sorry." he says as he sinks to his knees next to Chloe's body. "She showed me kindness I have never known and this is how I repay her." he says as he gently closes her eyes.

"Holly Crap! He just ate my cousin. What the heck I am going to do? I should be furious or at least terrified but I am not. He is clearly in pain. Knowing Chloe she would totally sacrifice herself for someone else. Besides her power should bring her back. This will be fine. Deep breath. Hands stop shaking. Still I really wish Ollie and Clark were here." races thru Lois's mind.

What comes out her mouth is "I know how you feel. The first time Chloe died for me, I felt so guilty. I was being all GI Jane fighting a guy twice my size. I beat him but he managed to stab me. If not for Chloe, I would have died. I didn't know about her power then so I thought she was gone. So don't give up my cousin just yet. She will be fine. You'll see." In her mind Lois says "You hear me Chloe. You have to be ok."

Confused Draggon turns to her. "Chloe is dead Lois. I drank her life force. She can't come back."

Trying to be as "this is no big deal" as she can Lois says "Chloe never told you about her power? I just assumed she had because she shared so much with you. Chloe has died several times but she never stays dead." Looking around at the destruction wrought to the farm, she sees the house is still standing. The windows have been blow out but otherwise the house doesn't look too badly damaged. "Let's get Chloe inside." says Lois.

Draggon carries Chloe inside and places her on the sofa. "How long till she recovers?" he asks with faint hope.

"Honestly, I don't know. I think it took several hours last time. Maybe you should see about fixing your ship while we wait?" says Lois.

As soon as Draggon leaves the house, Lois starts shaking. "It has been one hell of a week." she thinks to herself. Forcing herself to calm down, she examines Chloe for any signs of life. Not finding any, she gives Chloe a good shake while telling Chloe "Wake up Chloe. You have to wake up."

Reluctantly Draggon heads back to his ship. He still cannot believe he allowed himself to feed on Chloe. "How am I any better than the monsters?" he demands of himself. He takes some of his guilt/frustration out on his damaged ship but the physical release does not help much. He busies himself with assessing the level of damage the ship has taken.

His examination of his ship reveals that Brainiac's device destroyed the ship's AI and major systems. Draggon lacks the technical skills to repair the ship so he does the only thing he can. He salvages some gear and sets the autodestruct. Within moments the ship collapses into a mini black hole the autodestruct created. He is now a permanent resident of Earth.

Gathering his gear and steadying himself, he goes back inside to face Lois and Chloe's body once more. He truly hopes Lois is right. "Chloe did not deserve to die. Particularly, for something like me." floats thru his troubled mind.

When he enters the house, he sees Lois sitting by Chloe's body. He places his gear on the floor and goes to sit by her. There is no furniture to fit his frame so he sits on the floor.

Lois watches Draggon sit vigil for awhile but eventually feels the need to do something. Chloe will be fine she reassures herself so she heads outside to survey the damage to the farm. The barn and surrounding pasture fences are completely flattened but that seems to be the worst of the damage. At least until she sees what is left of Oliver's car. That managed ball of metal and plastic no longer even resembles a car. "Well Ollie is rich. I am sure he can afford a new one. Still it was a nice car." she thinks.

Something is tugging at Lois's brain. Suddenly, it clicks. Where is everyone? The farm is somewhat remote but someone must have seen that explosion. The fire department or at least the police should have been out here to check. Lois feels a chill run down her spine. Something is very wrong. She goes inside to tell Draggon of her fears when she is surrounded by a dark cloud. The cloud forces it way into her mouth and nose. She tries to scream but no sound comes out.

Sitting next to Chloe's still form Draggon finds himself thinking of his vow. He swore never to pray to any being after learning how Kryptonians tricked him. Now he finds himself desperate enough to pray to any being who may help. "Please let her recover" he begs the universe.

It seems something was listening because Chloe suddenly sits up. This startles Draggon because he didn't hear her heart start beating. He listens. Her heart is still not beating. "Chloe are you ok? Lois told me about your power but I really thought I killed you. I don't expect forgiveness. I just needed to know you would be ok." says Draggon in a rush as he stands.

Chloe looks at him. "I am not sure. Something is different. I am really cold and feel numb." replies Chloe with a look of curiosity on her face. She slowly moves her arms and hands. Next she tries to stand. Her legs support her so she does some slow stretches trying to test that her body is working. As she moves her heart starts to beat and other internal organs revive. "That is better." Chloe says with the color returning to her face. "Normally everything starts working as soon as I wake up. I wonder why it took a little longer this time. How long was I down?" Chloe says.

"About 4 hours." Draggon replies still amazed that Chloe is alive. He is so glad that he did not kill her. "Thank you" he says to the universe.

"Not long at all. The time before it was like 2 days. Boy was Clark freaked out." Chloe says with her usual grin back in place. She finally notices that Draggon is avoiding looking directly at her. "Hey it is not your fault what happened. Brainiac would have killed all of us and probably everyone on the planet. He had to be stopped no matter the cost. I knew the risks and I made the choice." Chloe says as she positions herself in front of him so she can meet his eyes.

He tries to turn away but her hand on his face stops him. "I fed on you Chloe. How can you just forget that?" his shame is clear in his voice. "I am just a monster." runs over and over in his head.

"You did what was necessary no matter what it cost you personal. That is what heroes do. There is no guilt in that." she says. The sincerity in her words is clear.

"I am a monster. I did what I was designed to do. I killed." he replies with his guilt mixing with anger at himself.

The pain in his eyes tears at Chloe's soul. "He is so like Clark. Only able to see how they failed or let us down. Never able to see what they do as noble or heroic." thinks Chloe. "I saw how hard you tried not to. I remember you begging me to run. I know you are not a monster. I knew the night we met. Only a hero would save a complete stranger." she says to comfort him.

"Please don't call me that." he begs. "How can she use that word to describe me? I know I failed her. Her words are just meant to comfort me. They change nothing. A true hero would have found another way. A true hero would have died before letting anything happen to her." Draggon thinks. His heart is heavy. For a moment he wishes he did not ever meet her. Life was easier when he only had his quest.

"Only if you agree to stop all this nonsense. You did nothing wrong. I am fine. Let's just drop this whole guilt trip." Chloe says in a firm and caring tone.

"You are a better friend than I deserve Ms. Sullivan." Draggon says seriously.

"Don't go putting me on too high a pedestal. I am just as flawed as your average world saving alien" she laughs.

Despite himself he laughs as well. The weight in his heart is not gone but it has lessened. He will never forget or forgive himself for losing control of his hunger.

The Plague

The kitchen door swings open and Lois stumbles in. Something is clearly wrong with her. Her eyes are glazed and unfocused. She is trying to cough but failing.

Chloe rushes over to her. "Lois, what happened? Lois" Chloe says.

Lois is unable to respond. Her breathing is erratic and she is covered in sweat. Touching Lois' forehead, Chloe feels Lois burning up. In desperation, Chloe tries to use her power but nothing happens. "I must not be recovered enough from last time." she thinks.

"Draggon. Help me get Lois upstairs. We need to get her in the tub so we can bring down her body temp." Chloe says urgently.

Draggon scoops Lois up and follows Chloe upstairs. Fortunately, the explosion did not damage the water pump and the facets still work. Placing Lois in the tub, Draggon steps back. Chloe starts the tub filling with cold water and then starts to remove Lois' clothes. Seeing Chloe is having trouble getting Lois out of her garments, Draggon uses one of his claws to slice the garments off Lois.

"Well Lois will be pissed you just wrecked her favorite pair of jeans but thanks. Do you remember what the frig is? Can you get me all the ice out of the freeze section?" Chloe says.

Draggon goes down stairs to get the ice. While down there he retrieves the medical kit he salvaged. The kit does not have much, really just a first aid kit but it does have a scanner that might help. He takes the scanner and ice up to the bathroom. He dumps the ice into the water. He runs the scanner over Lois and is surprised to see nanites in her system. The nanites are the source of the problem. Her body is trying to resist them but they are working their way into her brain. "Damn the kit does not have anything to counter this. My ship would have. If I had not been so careless, Lois would not be in such danger. " he mentally chastises himself.

"Chloe Brainiac must have released a nanite virus into the air. It is trying to overwrite Lois' personality. Without my ship, I don't have anything to counter it." Draggon tells her.

"There must be something we can do?" Chloe asks.

"The only way to shut them down is with a specific electrical current. I don't have the equipment to create such a pulse." Draggon replies frustration clear in his voice.

Thinking for a moment, Chloe remembers that the corral used an electric fence. "What if we jury rigger a low level electric shock? Would that do it?" she asks.

"I am not sure. I don't know how much current your bodies can endure. The voltage level necessary may kill her." Draggon replies.

"Well the nanites will certainly kill her so we should try." Chloe replies.

While Chloe watches over Lois, Draggon gathers the fence battery and some wire. They then reconnect the wire to the battery in the bathroom. Draggon holds the live wire and prepares to lower it into Lois' bathwater. Chloe watches the medical scanner so she can let him know the moment the nanites are affected.

Draggon lowers the wire into the water and Lois's body convulses. Chloe checks the scanner but the nanites are unaffected. Turning up the current, they try again. Still no effect. Turning the battery up to full charge, they try once more. This time the nanites are affected but the strong current throws Lois into cardiac arrest.

Lois' body convulses in the tub while Chloe watches the number of nanites decreases. "Hold on Lois" Chloe says. Once they are all gone, she turns off the battery.

By this point, Lois's heart has stopped completely. Frantic, Draggon pulls Lois out of the tub. Once Lois is on the floor, Chloe starts CPR. Helpless Draggon can just stand and watch.

"Come on Lois. You are a fighter. Don't let a little thing like electrocution stop you." Chloe shouts as she struggles to revive Lois.

Chloe breathes a deep sigh of relief when Lois' heart resumes beating. Lois sits up suddenly. "What the hell just happened?" she asks. She then covers herself with her hands and adds "Why am I naked and wet?"

Chloe just hugs her.

"Did I die? Last think I remember I was looking at Ollie's mangled car." Lois asks.

"Brainiac released a nanite plague that was trying to rewrite your personality so you would serve him." Draggon answers. His alien nature really stands out as no human could manage that matter of fact tone in this situation.

"That explains what must have happened to everyone." Lois says as she snaps her fingers.

"Huh" says Chloe. Her adrenaline rush is quickly being replaced by exhaustion. "Boy CPR is harder than the movies make it look. My arms are killing me." Chloe thinks.

"You didn't notice that the police, fire department or National Guard hasn't shown up. Draggon's ship crashing must have been noticed by somebody so why aren't they investigating. Brainiac must have taken them over" Lois says clearly proud of her deductive reasoning.

Draggon says "Nanite viruses were used to enslave whole planets during the height of the monster's empire. Their use was discontinued once the rebels figured out how to counter them. On this world, your people would be defenseless. We must stop this plague."

"But how? We can't electrocute the whole town." asks Chloe.

"The nanites are controlled from a central source. They are too dangerous to be allowed independence. If we find the source we can turn off the nanites." Draggon says.

"Any idea where Brainiac would stash such a device." Chloe says out loud.

"I think I have an idea. Lex had an old military bunker converted into a high tech lab not too far from here. I bet we can find Brainiac there." Lois says.

"Lex has facilities all over Smallville. Why this lab?" Chloe asks.

"Because when I confronted Lex about that lab 2 weeks ago he was genuinely surprised that the lab was active. At the time I just thought he was an excellent liar but now I bet Brainiac took it over without Lex's knowledge." Lois says with a smug grin.

"Oh crap. Brainiac probably has Lex by now. There is no way Lex would not have checked on that lab after confronted him. We had better check out this lab ASAP." Chloe says.

"Did any of your ground vehicles survive the explosion?" Draggon asks.

"Ollie's car is scrap and I didn't see Smallville's truck anywhere." replies Lois as she digs through Clark's and Martha's closets for something to wear. She finds a pair of old jeans and a t-shirt that will work. Fortunately her shoes are still intact because her feet would not fit in any of Martha's shoes much less Clarks.

"My car might be ok. I parked it out down the road so Clark wouldn't see it when he came to rescue me." Chloe replies.

As they head outside, a battered Clark runs up at less than super speed. He is clearly injured as they can see an arrow sticking out of his back. He tries to say something about Brainiac and the world but collapses before he can.

Chloe grabs the arrow but is unable to pull it out. "It must be made of kryptonite. Help me get it out." she shouts.

Draggon walks over to Clark and examines the wound. "The arrow is barbed. I will need to cut it out." he tells her. Using his claws he manages to cut the arrow free. A large piece of kryptonite adorns the arrow's tip. Chloe has Draggon snap the tip off. Chloe then places the tip in a lead lined box.

With the Kryptonite removed Clark's wound closes up and Clark breathes easier.

Placing Clark in a sunny spot on the driveway, Draggon says. "Luckily it is a bright sunny day so Clark should recover quickly."

"Ok Chloe What is up with Smallville here? Normal people don't heal that fast. What is the deal with the sunlight? That is the second time alien boy here has mentioned Clark needing sunlight. Now that I stop to think about it, a lot of weirdness has involved Clark. I know you know so spill. It can't be any stranger than alien boy here." she says pointing at Draggon.

"I am not sure Clark would want you to know Lois. It is not my place to tell you. You will have to ask Clark when he wakes up." Chloe says in a "this conversation is over voice".

Clark wakes up about 20 minutes later. He finds himself lying in the middle of his driveway with Lois, Chloe and Draggon sitting nearby. Shaking his head to clear it, he reviews what happened when he and Oliver got to the Lexcorp complex. The rest of the Justice League attacked them. Clark and Oliver were holding them off when Oliver suddenly stopped and grabbed his head. A moment later, Oliver had that same glassy eyed stare that Lana and the League had. Realizing he couldn't stop them all without hurting them, he decided to go for help.

As he raced away, Oliver fired an arrow at Clark. Clark made the mistake of not dodging it, thinking the arrow wouldn't hurt him. He didn't know Oliver carried a kryptonite arrow. The pain was intense but Clark just focused on running. His moment carried him to the farm where he saw Lois, Chloe, and Draggon. He tried to warn them but he realizes he passed out before he did.

"Brainiac has taken over most of the Metropolis. He released some sort of plague that turned everyone into zombies like Lana. They obey his every command. I barely escaped." Clark says anxiously.

"Don't worry Clark. We think we know where Brainiac is hiding. We were just getting ready to go there." says Chloe.

"Why don't you and Draggon go check on your car? Smallville and I need to have a chat. Lois says with her patented "I am going to get answers out of you if it kills you" smile as she firms plants a hand on Clark's shoulder.

Chloe smirks and says "I left the car down the road over there." Draggon follows her down the road.

"Ok Spill it Smallville. What are you a meteor freak I mean infected? What is your deal? You had to be running 40 miles an hour when you came home. That ain't normal." Lois asks.

"Lois. I don't know what you are talking about." Clark says as he tries to talk his way out this.

"Not buying this time. You had best just spill it because we don't have a lot time. The world still needs saving. So?" Lois demands.

Clark shrugs his shoulder in defeat. He always hates endangering his friends with his secret but Lois is in pretty deep already and deserves the truth. He takes a deep breath and says "I am an alien from the planet Krypton. My parents sent me here as a baby to save me. My home world was destroyed in a civil war. I didn't tell you because I didn't want to endanger you."

"You are an alien too. If you didn't want to endanger my why tell Chloe?" she fires back.

"Chloe and Oliver figured it out on their own. I didn't tell them. Chloe has been in danger so many times because of my secret. That is how she got infected by helping me all the time. She never would have been exposed to so much Kryptonite otherwise." Clark explains to her.

"Wait Ollie knows too." Lois says stunned. It seems everyone else knew Clark secret. "What kind of reporter can I hope to be without noticing all this going on right under my nose" she thinks to herself. Focusing his frustration on Clark, she launches her next question at him.

Sure enough Chloe's car is intact but there is no way Draggon will fit in her Volkswagen bug. Thinking about the problem for a minute, Chloe figures out that by standing in the open trunk and hanging onto the roof Draggon can ride. He climbs into his spot. "Luckily everyone is mind controlled zombies because there is no way to miss a 7 foot reptile hanging onto a bug." Chloe remarks while trying not to laugh.

Seeing Draggon is actually embarrassed, Chloe shuts up. She just climbs into the driver's seat and drives slowly back to the farm.

"Am I too heavy for the vehicle" Draggon asks by leaning down next to the driver's window.

Startled by his face being so close to her window Chloe replies "No you are fine. I am going slow to give Lois and Clark a chance to talk."

"The world is in danger. We must hurry." he replies so seriously it reminds Chloe of a Saturday morning cartoon superhero. Smiling to herself, she accelerates.

As they pull up, Lois looks at Draggon hanging on and says "Now that is something you don't see everyday even in Metropolis."

Draggon steps down and says "I salvaged some gear that might be useful. I will get it." He heads inside.

Chloe approaches Lois. Lois asks "Was the big guy blushing?"

"I think so but it is hard to tell. How did the talk go?" Chloe says with a chuckle.

"I am still standing right here." Clark says.

"Good point. Go help Draggon." Chloe says with a dismissive wave of her hand.

A muttering Clark heads inside his house. Looking at all the damage, he is glad mom won't be home for another few weeks because the farm needs a lot of work.

"Clark admitted to being an alien. He promised to give me more details if we survive. I think he is hoping the world will end this time." Lois says while sharing a grin with Chloe.

By this point Draggon and Clark are loading the gear into Chloe's small car. Clark realizes they will not all fit even with Draggon riding on the back. "No problem. I can just run." he thinks.

11


	5. Chapter 5

Part V Part V Brainiac's lair

Seeing that the boys have finished, Chloe and Lois head over to the car. Clark says "I am just going to run next to the car since we won't all fit."

"Good idea. Next time I will have to buy a van. All aboard" Chloe says with a smile.

Lois and Draggon take their respective places and Chloe drives toward the lab complex. Clark runs easily along side. The parts of Smallville they pass through are eerily quiet as they see not a single living soul.

At the lab's perimeter, Lois and Chloe put on the dust masks they hope will protect them from the nanites. Draggon is fairly certain the nanites have to be inhaled to enter the human body so the masks should work.

The lab does not have any obvious defenders. The gates stand wide open. However, all the lights are on. The whole scene makes everyone nervous.

"This just screams trap." says Lois.

"We have to get in there but how do we do it without Brainiac seeing?" Chloe asks.

"Where does the base get its power? A disruption would announce that someone is here but make it harder for Brainiac to find us." suggests Draggon.

Clark scans the complex with his x-ray vision. Large parts of the underground sections must be lined with lead because he can't see into them. Clark does not see anyone in the other parts of the complex. Also, he locates the generator on the far side of the complex. Clark explains what he sees to the group.

"What about setting our own trap? If we take out the generators won't Brainiac come to investigate? We can attack him then." says Lois. In the back of her head she is thinking "I am planning on attacking an alien super robot with two aliens and my cousin so we can save my superhero ex-boyfriend. Even Hollywood wouldn't believe this is happening."

"Brainiac would almost certain expect a trap but if he needs the generators he would have no choice but to investigate." Draggon points out.

"It is worth a shot. Even if Brainiac doesn't come, destroying the generators should slow him down." says Clark. "And if you pull anything I will stop you" Clark thinks at Draggon.

"Where are the exits from the underground portions of the lab?" Draggon asks Clark.

Clark shows him by drawing a simple map in the dirt.

"Lois, Chloe, how do you feel about being bait?" ask Draggon.

"What do you have in mind?" Clark asks. He is clearly not comfortable with using the girls as bait.

"Brainiac will be expecting you or me to be the ones destroying the generator. If he only sees them, he will want to question them. When he is focused on them, I blast him." Draggon explains.

"It sounds like a good idea. Just don't be late." Lois says. "Holy Crap! I just volunteered my cousin and I to be alien bait! Calm down. Everything is fine. Just think about the story you will get out of this." Lois thinks to herself.

Lois and Chloe make their way to the generator shed. Inside they find the power controls and turn off the system. Then they smash as many of the panels as they dare before running back outside.

By the time they get outside, Brainiac is there. He sees them and zips over to them. Just before he reaches them, Draggon fires from his hiding spot. His blast catches Brainiac in the chest vaporizing him.

"That was too easy." Draggon says and he is right. Three more Brainiacs appear and start firing disrupters at Draggon. Draggon is unable to fire back as it is taking all his skill to avoid the blasts. The trees around him collapse as parts of their trunks vaporize from hits. Draggon knows he won't be able to keep this up long. The Brainiacs are coordinating their fire so Draggon has an ever shrinking area in which to dodge.

Clark takes the pressure off Draggon by attacking the Brainiacs with his heat vision. He aims for their weapons but he only manages to destroy two of the disrupters. The disarmed Brainiacs charge Clark and tackle him. The third keeps firing at Draggon.

Lois and Chloe throw rocks at the still armed Brainiac. Surprised by the primitive attack, the armed Brainiac turns to the two women. This distraction is only for a second but that is all the time Draggon needs to fire an energy blast. The armed Brainiac is destroyed the instant the beam strikes it.

Meanwhile Clark is trading blows with the two unarmed Brainiacs. No matter how hard he hits them, they just reform. Clark tries his heat vision but still the constructs reform.

Focused on their fight with Clark, they fail to notice Draggon powering up behind them. His beam engulfs both of them destroying them completely.

Elsewhere Brainiac is impressed. He did not think they could beat all 4 replicants. It doesn't matter. They are too late. The device is powering up.

Draggon is surprised to find his energy level still high after firing so many blasts. Normally he would have depleted his energy stores by now. Chloe's life force must be exceptionally strong for him to still have this much power left. With that thought his guilt resurfaces but he suppresses it so he can he focus on the mission.

Having defeated Brainiac's replicants, the group heads into the complex. They figure Brainiac must be hiding in the section shielded with lead so they head to that section. The entrance is closed with a huge blast door. Clark and Draggon each take a side and rip it free from the wall. As they are putting the 20 ton door to one side, Clark nearly drops his side. Chloe and Lois can see that the walls of this section are lined with Kryptonite. There is no way Clark can enter there.

Chloe puts a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You know you can't go in there. Clark, you wouldn't last 2 minutes. Why don't you wait here." she says

"Don't worry Smallville we got this one" Lois says with complete confidence. "Oh great. We are now down to one alien and us. Wonderful." she thinks behind her confident smile.

"Clearly Brainiac has been expecting you to stop him. He has planned well. Alone neither of us could have made it this far. Let me have the honor of finishing this." Draggon implores Clark.

Frustrated, Clark backs away from the Kryptonite filled hallway. Once clear, he recovers his powers and reluctantly agrees he has no choice but to wait here. "I may not be able to go with you but let see if my x-ray vision can locate Brainiac now that the door is off. There. I found him." Clark says. He gives the others directions on how to get to Brainiac.

With Draggon leading the way, they head into the Kryptonite filled area.

"Be careful" Clark shouts after them.

Thanks to Clark's directions, they quickly find the room Brainiac is working in. Looking in Draggon is chilled to the core by what he sees. "Brainiac, using the particle cannons he salvaged, has built a Nova device. The device will punch a hole in the space time continuum when it is activated. The tear created will literally ripe this world apart. We must destroy that device." declares Draggon.

"Well, what can we do? Is there someway to turn it off? Maybe smash the control panel? suggests Lois.

What about the nanite virus? Did you see the control panel for it? asks Chloe.

"I did. The control module is on the table next to where Brainiac is working. I have a plan to destroy both devices and Brainiac." replies Draggon.

"What exactly do you plan to do?" ask Chloe her concern clear in her voice.

"What needs to be done. The Nova device is already powering up. When it reaches full power this world dies. I won't allow that to happen. Thanks to you, I have the power to stop it. There is nothing you and Lois can do to help. You need to get back to Clark as fast as you can. When you get to him, have him carry both of you the rest of the way out. He will need to get at least 3 miles away in order to survive the blast. " Draggon says.

"There must be another way." pleads Chloe as tears start to fall but Draggon shakes of his head no.

Lois finds herself wiping a tear away. "He is not even human and he is going to die to save us. I hope humanity proves worthy of his sacrifice." Lois thinks.

"You reminded me of who I was before the monsters. You showed me the impossible: a heroic Kryptonian. If that is possible, then anything is. I can never thank you enough for those gifts. Now, it is time for you and Lois to run." Draggon says while giving Chloe one last hug.

"You know you are a hero. Good luck and goodbye" Chloe replies thru her tears.

"Good bye Chloe Sullivan. Now run." he says. Summoning his all energy, he enters the room with Brainiac.

Chloe watches him go even as Lois is dragging her down the hall while exclaiming "We have to go! He doesn't want us all to die! Don't throw away his sacrifice. We have to run now."

Reluctantly, Chloe joins Lois in running down the hall. "God or whoever is out there. Be kind to him." Passes thru Chloe's mind.

When they reach Clark, he asks "Where is Draggon?"

The tears on Chloe's face answer his question but Lois adds "He is stopping Brainiac. He said for you to carry us out of here as fast as you can. This place is about to explode. We need to go now!"

"Can't we help him?" Clark asks as he looks down the Kryptonite hallway.

"What do you think you can do? This place is covered with pure kryptonite. You wouldn't last ten seconds in there, much less in a fight with Brainiac. Draggon's plan is our planets only chance." Lois says.

"He wanted it this way. He is sacrificing himself in order to save us all." Chloe says with fresh tears on her face.

Clark's super hearing detects Draggon confronting Brainiac. Clark realizes there is no more time. They must leave now. "Thank you." he thinks to Draggon. He grabs Chloe and Lois and runs as fast as he can out of the complex.

When Draggon enters the room, Brainiac is waiting for him. "You have made a valiant attempt but you will not stop me. The device is nearly at full power. This world will die but Krypton will be reborn. Zod's empire will be restored! How does it feel to die a failure?" Brainiac says with malice in his voice. He raises the disrupter and fires.

"Today is a good day to die" Draggon says with a smile on his lips. Draggon release all his energy at once. It is a glorious moment for him. He is finally at peace.

Caught by surprise Brainiac realizes his mistake too late. His simulations were all based on Draggon's desire for self preservation. It never occurred to him that Draggon would sacrifice himself. With these last thoughts, Brainiac vaporizes while his perfect machine explodes around him.

Hurray, the world is saved

Clark manages to make it 3 miles away before the blast wave catches up to them. Fortunately, Clark is able to shield Chloe and Lois from the worst of the blast. They turn back to see the devastation. Nothing remains of the lab. A mile wide crater now sits in its place.

"He did it." says a crying Chloe. Her heart aches with the loss of new friend.

"He did it. He saved us all." Clark agrees. He gives Chloe a hug to comfort her. Feeling her tears soak thru his shirt Clark finally admits something to himself. It is something he has know for a long time but been too afraid to face. He breaks the hug and looks into Chloe's eyes. He loses himself in there for a moment but he recovers and says the hardest thing he has ever had to say "The day I thought Draggon killed you I realized I couldn't live my life without you. But even then I was not brave enough to listen to my heart. There are a million reasons why we should not be together but it all comes down to the one reason we should. I love you Chloe" Clark says. Having finally said it out loud Clark feels lighter than air.

Chloe has waited so long to hear those words she must be sure that they are not just words. She kisses Clark with all that she is. All her fears melt away when Clark returns the kiss with all that he is. She breaks the kiss long enough to mutter "I love you too."

Lois stands there stunned as Chloe and Clark slowly float into the air. It has been one hell of a week. First she meets an alien, then she finds out Smallville is an alien, and the most amazing part Clark and Chloe finally admit their feelings for each other. It gives her hope that she will find her someone. Maybe she will give Ollie another chance.

When their perfect kiss finally ends, they are amazed to find themselves several feet off the ground. Clark laughs. "Peter Pan" he mutters while carefully holding Chloe.

"Huh" she says clearly confused by Clark's remark.

"I should have known that to fly all I needed was to find my happy thought." Clarks says with a laugh clear and free. For the first time in a long time, he is happy.

Chloe joins his laughter. She is so pleased to hear the burdens lifting from his heart. For the first time she believes they just may have a chance at a love affair.

Unable to restrain herself Lois shouts "Hey you two! Care to come back down to Earth?" She is so happy for her cousin even if she still holds some concern about Clark being an alien.

With Clark blushing and Chloe smiling a happy smile, they float down next to Lois.

Lois looks at them with a big smile and says "About time." She then hugs each of them.

Their happy moment is shattered when Clark spots something with his supervision. "Chloe, I think I see Draggon's body. Why don't you wait here with Lois while I go take of it." Clark stammers.

He was my friend first. I want to see." Chloe says.

Nodding, Clark picks up Chloe and Lois and flies them to where Draggon lies. The body is about a mile out of the center of the blast site. Most of it is just gone. Only part of his torso and his head remain. His lifeless eyes stare up at them.

Chloe ducks her face into Clark's chest the horror simply too much for her. She immediately feels guilty for her moment with Clark. Their friend lies here lifeless while she and Clark are laughing floating thru the sky.

"Do you know of anyway to contact his people?" Clark asks while covering Draggon's body with his red jacket.

"With his ship gone, I don't know of a way. Do you think Jor-El would help?" Chloe asks.

"We can ask him. If you want me to take you home while I deal with this that is ok." Clark says clearly concerned.

"No Clark I need to see this to the end." Chloe replies.

"You are not getting rid of me either Smallville." a determined Lois states.

"Ok. Wait here one minute." Clark replies. He flies back to farm in seconds. There he builds a coffin at super speed. It is a simple pine box but Clark doesn't even know if Draggon's people bury their dead. He races back to Chloe and Lois not wanting them to spend one more minute alone with Draggon's corpse than necessary.

Chloe lifts Clark's jacket and forces herself to look at Draggon's remains. Maybe it is just her mind playing tricks to make her feel better but she swears she sees a look on contentment on his face. She does close his eyes. It just seems like something you should do.

Clark is back in a few minutes. He places Draggon in the coffin he made.

Tying the coffin to the roof of Chloe's car, Clark ushers Lois and Chloe into the car. He then picks up the car and flies to the Fortress.

When they arrive at the fortress, Clark is surprised to see a crystal door blocking his usual entrance. He calls to Jor-El.

Jor-El's image forms in the door and says "You cannot enter with one of Zod's shock troopers. Too many have been allowed access to the fortress as it is."

"He is no threat. He was our friend and he died protecting this world. All I want to know is if you can contact his people and let them know what happened to him." Clark states.

"I will not endanger our location by sending such a signal." Jor-El says with his usual "I know more than you do attitude".

Clark never thought he could hate a computer program so much. He can't imagine his father was such an ass. "If you won't call his people, can you at least tell us how to show respect to his body. Do his people bury their dead?" Clark inquires.

"These creatures were cannon fodder in Zod's armies. They have no society. They are just organic machines. I can produce an acid that will ensure the body's destruction." replies Jor-El.

"He was a person! You cold son of bitch!" Chloe shouts.

Clark knows arguing with Jor-El never ends well so he tells Chloe "Let's bury his body. There is a nice rock formation over there that I can crave into a tomb. That way we can see his grave from the fortress."

"Thank you Clark. I think he would like that." she replies.

Lois just stands and stares. The site of the Fortress takes her breath away. "It is so alien but still beautiful. Oh crap. I bet I can't tell anyone about this either. One hell of reporter you are turning out to be Lois." she thinks.

Clark gets to work. It takes him a few hours to crave out the tomb. When it is done, he places the coffin inside. Chloe touches the coffin and says "I didn't know him a long time but I knew him long enough to know he was a hero and my friend. Thank you." Lois puts a supportive arm around Chloe and leads her towards the Fortress.

Clark seals the tomb by melting the rock with his heat vision. He then uses his heat vision to write "Here lies a hero" into the stone cover. Chloe stands mutely by. New tears make their way down her cheeks despite Lois's best efforts to comfort her.

In silence they leave Draggon's tomb and head back to the fortress. Jor-El is still refusing to them in until Clark says something to Jor-El in Kryptonian.

Whatever Clark said worked because Jor-El opens the door. Chloe and Lois walk inside. Lois cannot believe just how awesome this place is.

Clark introduces Lois to Jor-El "This is my father or at least a computer simulation of him. He has agreed to answer all your questions. Follow him to a room where you can talk."

When they are alone, Clark tells Chloe "Jor-El is going erase Lois' memory of all this. She has too much reporter in her. She would never be able to keep all this secret."

"You are right. She wouldn't be able to help herself. Still I don't like the idea of messing with anyone's memory. That is why Jor-el let us in isn't it? You agreed to erase our memories?" Chloe replies.

"No. Just Lois' memory. Believe it or not Jor-El likes you. He has accepted your right to be here." Clark tells her.

The next morning:

Lois wakes up in her apartment with a major headache. The light streaming in thru her window seems like a spot light. "What the heck did I drink last night" she wonders. Stumbling to her bathroom she cleans up. Feeling refreshed somewhat from the shower, she turns on the TV. She is shocked to see that there was some sort of super cold that caused mass hallucinations. "Great reporter. You are Lois. You pick the one day the world is in total chaos to tie one on." Hoping to salvage some sort of story, she rushes off to the Daily Planet.

Landing at the Kent Farm, a confused Chloe asks "I thought you were going to drop me at my home?"

"I was hoping this is your home" Clark replies.

"Clark Kent, are you asking me to move in with you?" Chloe asks.

"Well, you would have your own room here and at the Fortress. I don't expect you to um. I just want you close to me." Clark stammers with his boyish charm.

"Well maybe we should just share your rooms" Chloe says as she enjoys seeing Clark blush right before she kisses him.

Elsewhere:

Brainiac struggles to reassemble himself but is so far is unable to. Draggon's attack has badly damaged him but he is not concerned. He will recover eventually. This world will burn eventually. Krypton will be reborn eventually. He allows himself to flow into a nearby stream while dreaming of his next plan.


End file.
